Green computing tips- environmentally friendly computing tips

Green Computing Tips for Printers

When sourcing printers for your organisation try to be consistent. If you have ten different black and white laser printers that are all different makes and models, then not only will it prove more difficult to fix technical problems, you will be unable to reuse parts from your broken printers. However, if you have 10 laser printers all of the same make and model, when one becomes damaged, you can cannibalise the parts and use them as spares for your printers rather than having to dispose of the printer completely. If you outsource your technical support this could also reduce the number of points-of-contact necessary.

Green Computing Tips for Recycled Toner

In our experience recycled toner is anything but environmentally friendly or cheap. Looking at a face value price comparison between new toner cartridges and recycled toner cartridges, it may seem like you have got a good deal and a reasonable cost-saving. However, much recycled toner is highly prone to leakage, which means that you will need to replace your toner much more regularly, and that lots of paper will be wasted when the toner leaks. It will also probably cost you more in technical support, repeatedly having to have your laser printers cleaned out, and it will also cost you more money in replacement parts as recycled toner tends to be abrasive and to cause damage to laser printer fuser units.

Recent research conducted by the University of Queensland has also suggested that toner particles are highly carcinogenic and cause cancer. If your toner leaks more of it will be in the air and it is reasonable to assume that the risk is increased. See, for instance, this BBC report on the association between laser printers and cancer:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/asia-pacific/6923915.stm

Replace your RAM

Before consigning older spec machines to obsolescence, try upgrading the RAM. When older computers are performing slowly it is often only the RAM than needs upgrading. You can also try removing applications that are taking up uneccessary amounts of memory, or prevent them from starting up on boot by using msconfig:

Start > Run > type “msconfig” > enter

Now go to the Startup tab and disable anything that you don't need

Green Computing Tips for Monitors

Need to invest in larger CRT monitors or TFT screens?

Before investing in larger CRT or TFT monitors try using the F11 key in Internet Explorer or Mozilla Firefox, and see if this helps to solve your screen size issues. The F11 function key gives you a full screen view which may give you as much as an extra inch and a half of screen space. Simply hit F11 again to return to the normal view.

Green computing Tips for Computer Hardware Rollouts

If you are planning a new hardware rollout, then timing and planning is key to make sure that you do not fall victim to deploying outmoded or highly depreciated kit. If a hardware vendor approaches you with an ostensibly great buy-now deal, then you need to consider the following:

1. Are we ready to deploy our hardware?
2. Will the hardware need to go into storage until we are ready to deploy and how much will it cost?
3. How much will the hardware have depreciated before we are ready to deploy it?
4. Is the hardware likely to be outdated by the time we are ready to deploy it, and how much will this shorten its lifespan of operable usefulness.

Asset Manage your Computer Hardware

Keeping track of your computer hardware and knowing exactly what computer assets you have in your business is one of the best ways you have of avoiding hardware wastage. Spare computer hard drives, disc drives, RAM and much else can be kept and re-used as needed rather than needing always to buy new. If you keep a good inventory of your stock you will find that your bottomline spend can be reduced and the amount of your hardware finding its way into landfill can be reduced.

Switch off your Computers Overnight

Save on your energy bills and reduce your carbon footprint: Don't leave computers on standby, switch them off when you are not using them, overnight at weekends and during long breaks. You should also consider making it company policy to switch off monitors and leave computers on standby or in hibernation when end-users are away from their desks for a long time during the day. Boot times these days are often fast enough to justify this and to make a big energy saving here. You should also think about making someone responsible for switching off printers overnight.

Chris Boswell, June 2007

(You are free to reproduce any of the information in this article or part thereof, so long as the byline remains intact and a link is provided back to this page)

Related Information: Keeping pcs out of landfill

Green Computing Links

1. Energy Management
2. Energy Conservation and Green Computing Tips
3. Greener Computing Tips from Lifehacker
4. Green Computing Guide Energy Saving Tips for PC's from Ohio University
5. Green Computing: Practical Tips to Make Your Computer Environmentally Friendly from Dell

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